Industrial filtration systems generally comprise multiple cartridge filters located within corresponding filter housings, and fluids to be filtered (influents) are supplied to the filter housings for the removal of debris, contaminants and particles. These cartridge filters generally have a cylinder shape with a hollow core. Influents are supplied to the hollow core and flowing outwards through the media of the cartridge filters, leaving debris, contaminants and particles at the surface of the media. After conducting such fluid processing for a period of time, the debris and particles will accumulate and clog the filter media, causing the drop of filter efficiency. In worse situations, a cake may aggregate at the inner surface of the filter cartridge and the filter will not function. Therefore, the cartridge must be cleaned and/or replaced after a period of operation. The cleaning of a filter generally involves shutting down the filtration operation, removing the cartridge, and manually spraying the surface to remove the residue so collected.
Another often performed filter cleaning procedure is called “backwash,” where the fluid flow within the filter housing is reversed, and the accumulated debris and particles can be washed by the fluid and drained. However, such backwash procedure suffers a drawback in that the flow of the backwash fluid may not be strong enough to remove or blast the aggregated particulate material or debris on the filter.
WO2009114128 discloses a spraying device that can move along a filter surface to emit a jet of cleaning fluid to remove residue from the filter surface. Specifically, the nozzle can move along the length of a filter cartridge to spray the cleaning fluid at the surface of the cartridge. However, such design fails to take into consideration the possible liquid/gas escape during cleaning, which may cause health and environmental concern when the influent contains hazardous components. Furthermore, the design cannot be used with a backwash cycle to improve the cleaning efficiency.
Therefore, there is a need for a filter cleaning apparatus and method that is also able to work in combination with a backwash operation to improve the cleaning efficiency.